Baby New Year showed up a little early at the Niabi Zoo in Illinois, in the form of this wobbly new giraffe born December 27. The boy, about six feet, 150 pounds, was born a few days earlier than expected, but the little feller is doing just fine, and will greet the public when the zoo reopens next May. Until then, he’ll bond with Mom, and do lots of fun giraffe-type activities, such as running around, flicking his tail, eating hay, nibbling leaves on trees (well, the shorter trees, anyway), or maybe take up a nice hobby, like stamp collecting, which can be a rewarding way to pass the time during the long winter months, because you also learn the history behind each stamp. I recall I had a full set of 60’s-era state flag stamps as a boy; sadly, they were lost in a family move, but anyway…

Farmer Ted was just tooling around on the tractor, minding his own business, when he saw Clyde, the herd punk. And before Farmer Ted could even mutter a small “hello,” he became victim to a drive-by moo-ing.

Sender-inner Amy S. and her cat Sebastian bring us our last new Rule of Cuteness for 2009: If your ears point at 9 and 3 o’clock, you’re cute. And if your ears point at 10, 2 and 4 o’clock, it’s time for a brisk, refreshing Dr Pepper!